Meet the Renfrews – the family behind Polanco

Polanco Home Furniture & Interior Decor Solutions – your local Ottawa family run business

A consistent selection of top-line products, excellent customer service, and a modern, dynamic approach to home decorating have all been essential to the success of Polanco Home Furniture & Interior Decor Solutions over the last 22 years. But truly – at the heart of its continued growth and unmatched reputation – is the family behind the Ottawa family run business.
 
The husband and wife team of Steve and Mandy Renfrew started Polanco Home Decor in 1999, and having this sense of family and togetherness at the center of the business has made helping others express their ideas of home and comfort not only a core value, but also a constant source of joy for the Renfrews since the very beginning.
 

 
“Everything we do is a reflection of the family that Polanco has grown out of,” Mandy remarked. For her and Steve, the last two-plus decades of running Polanco Home Decor has been a lesson in both learning and expressing the idea that home isn’t just a place, it’s an opportunity for the people you care about to come together.
 
For a business built on family relationships, trust and closeness have been essential to things running smoothly and successfully over Polanco’s lifespan. It’s only natural, then, that this focus on building and maintaining relationships extends beyond the Renfrew family and toward their many patrons as well.
 
“As owners and workers in the company, our family takes an active interest in every detail,” said Steve. “Family business means both working together and creating together, not just with each other, but also with our clients.”
 
By treating customers with the care and attention to detail that the family grant one another in running Polanco Home Decor, the Renfrews have built a ‘family business’ in the truest sense of the word, with this family comprised not just by the hardworking faces behind the business, but over two decades’ worth of satisfied customers.
 
“Many of our clients over the years have really become like an extended family,” said Mandy. “When they come into the store, whether for the first or fiftieth time, and see how invested we are in helping them find what they need, it builds a connection that’s hard to find elsewhere. It hasn’t just lead to customer loyalty, but many friendships as well.”
 
While this enduring sense of family has certainly shaped Polanco Home Decor, this influence goes both ways, with the experience of running the business and watching it grow over the years also playing a pivotal role in the lives of the Renfrew family.
 
Even from the early days, family and friends lent their assistance to Mandy and Steve, whether helping out with shipments or minding the store, but over the years as their children, Dominique and Zach, grew alongside the business, it also became an important part of their lives.
 

 
Though Mandy and Steve’s eldest daughter, Dominique, may not currently have an active role with Polanco, helping out around the store and having it be an integral part of her family while growing up has provided her with lessons and experiences that she says still help her to this day.
 
“It wasn’t just watching my parents work so hard at getting Polanco off the ground,” said Dominique. “What’s really stuck with me is seeing all that hard work pay off into something that’s brought them so much joy and success. It was really inspiring to see what’s possible when approaching life with that sense of passion and drive, and I’m really grateful to my parents for showing me that.”
 
Being four years old when Polanco Home Decor first opened, Zach has quite literally grown up with the business, providing him with a lifetime of experience that he is now applying through his full-time role in helping build Polanco’s legacy alongside his parents.
 
“So much of what Zach remembers growing up is being around Polanco, so it was a natural and welcome transition for him to become a full-time part of the team,” said Steve. “He takes great pride in working closely with clients, and he’s quickly developed his own way of offering amazing customer service.”
 

 
Zach says he has always been keen to be a part of the business. “I mean, even before I stepped into my current role, Polanco already was such a huge influence on my life,” he said. “That made the transition feel very natural: even from day one, I was already so invested in this role and getting to help build this thing that’s become such a big part of my family.”
 
Even as Polanco Home Decor has grown and changed throughout the years, the Renfrews’ role as the family at the heart of the business remains the constant that has made so much of the last 22 years possible.
 
“Family has been such an important part of Polanco’s success,” remarked Mandy, “and as we gather together for family day, I’m thankful that I’ve not only been lucky to share this experience with the people I love, but with everyone who we’ve had the privilege of helping and welcoming into the Polanco family over the years.”